Mopars In The Mist

If it is true that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, then New York Mopar collector Larry Hauptman is drowning in a sea of riches. Hidden from sight beneath a serene canopy of trees, Larry’s countryside stash of 70-plus vintage Dodge and Plymouth muscle cars has been gathered over the past quarter century from all over the nation. His taste leans toward the rare and exotic; he leaves chasing the more common stuff to others.

Instead, he has a fetish for cars originally built with Air Grabber hoods, four-speeds, kinky column-shift automatics, Six Packs, and ragtops. Another attraction is original paint and muscle graphics, regardless of condition. While some of his scores are rust-free, others bear the effects of repeated exposure to salted winter roads. In the beginning, Larry had plans to restore each purchase. But as the years rolled by, he focused on simply saving rarities from uncaring owners, gathering them one by one, and stashing them away for future salvation. Even though they’re exposed to New England weather--not to mention the occasional black bear foraging for fallen nuts--each shell has a story to tell and is worthy of a brighter future.

Each has a story to tell and is worthy of a brighter future

Let’s take a tour through this amazing stash of project cars waiting to happen. Though many are shown missing engines and miscellaneous body panels, more often than not, Larry has the matching-numbers drivetrains and sheetmetal in storage, to be reunited as they sell. Though he is actively restoring several cars on site, Larry realizes he’ll never get to the majority of them. What you see is for sale. To learn more, contact Larry at larrymopar@aol.com. Be persistent, you’ll get through.

This 440 Six Pack ’70 Challenger R/T is one of 1,640 six-barrel cars built and still wears most of its factory applied EK2 Go-Mango orange paint. A $249.55 upcharge over the R/T’s base 383 Magnum, the 440 Six Pack got wide beam connecting rods and (in most instances) a cast iron intake manifold for 1970. Larry bought this car complete and still has the loose parts stashed away. An unfortunate wintertime shed collapse caused the roof damage.

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Dodge’s recently-reborn Scat Pack high-performance marketing program and fan club first lived between 1968 and 1971. Scat Pack magazine ads for the Charger R/T, Coronet R/T, Super Bee, and Dart Swinger 340/GTS called them “the cars with the bumble bee stripes.” The worn tail stripe on this faded T5 Copper Poly ’69 Charger R/T warned plenty of GTO, SS454 and Fairlane Cobra Jet drivers that there’s a 440 Magnum on board. The dual chrome-tipped tailpipes have been silenced and the asymmetric leaf springs are sagging, but the new-for-’69 cone-type Sure Grip differential inside the 8¾ axlehousing is still ready for action.

Jutting through a layer of decaying maple leaves, the orange valve cover sits atop the original 440 Magnum’s 906 cylinder heads and high-flow exhaust manifolds. The only parts missing are the air cleaner, Carter AVS carburetor, seven-blade fan, and drive pulleys. The 440 Magnum was factory rated at 375 hp and 480 lb-ft of torque, and it came standard in each of the 18,866 Charger R/Ts built for 1969. Another 432 Charger R/Ts were built with the optional 426 Street Hemi (figure includes Charger Daytona Hemi installations). Inside, this one has the automatic transmission shift handle mounted to the steering column, a seldom-seen option that allowed three-across front seating on cruise night.

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An unfortunate wintertime shed collapse caused the roof damage

Another victim of falling objects, this ’70 GTX was born with the standard 375hp 440 Super Commando four-barrel, 727 TorqueFlite automatic transmission, and 3.23-geared 8-3/4 Sure Grip axle. A spotty coat of light yellow paint covers the original Deep Burnt Orange metallic on this non-vinyl-roof relic.

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Though Plymouth offered ’70 GTX buyers a front bench seat for the first time, this example was ordered new with a column-mounted shift handle, high-back buckets, and the optional fold-down center armrest for occasional three-across seating. The upscale woodgrain dash (shared with Sport Satellite) bears H51 air conditioner controls (a $357.65 option), an AM radio, and the standard red GTX logo.

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Years ago Jerry scored this ’69 Hemi Road Runner, still wearing much of its original F3 Forest Green paint, with a 318 in place of the original 426 dome head. Out of 788 ’69 Hemi Road Runners built, 162 were ordered with the 727 TorqueFlite automatic and RM21 pillar coupe body style as seen here. Motor Trend awarded its Car of the Year honors to the Road Runner in 1969 because it “started a whole new trend in Detroit, every major manufacturer is now producing a Road Runner–type car.”

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The letter J in the VIN tag’s fifth spot ordains this Beeper as one of the greatest muscle cars of all time. Though Road Runner sales peaked with the ’69 model, at 82,109 units, only 788 customers shelled out an extra $813.45 for the 426 Street Hemi. The rest (except for 1,432 midyear M-code 440 Six Barrel–equipped Road Runner coupes and hardtops) were powered by H-code 335hp 383s.

The puny two-barrel carb atop the visiting 318 looks ready to be sucked into the Air Grabber’s oval mouth. Optional on 383 Road Runners for $65.55, the N96 Air Grabber hood came standard with the E74 Street Hemi. Lacking optional power brakes and power steering, this one was ordered strictly for action. Inside are bucket seats and a console-mounted shift handle to control the heavy-duty five-clutch, wide-band Hemi TorqueFlite automatic.

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Often overlooked by muscle historians, the compact ’69 Dart GTS was available with every Dodge high-performance V-8 except the 426 Street Hemi and 440 Six Pack. The latest data indicates that 640 440s (M-code, all automatics with single four-barrel carburetion), 1,272 383s (H-code), and 3,645 340s (P-code) were built. This ’69 383 GTS is one of 784 built with a four-speed stick (another 488 cars were built with automatics).

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The potent Dart was built for action with manual steering and manual front disc brakes. The interior and trunk are packed with most of the parts needed to make it whole again. Rust is prevalent, but with reproduction patch panels available, this one deserves a second chance. A member of our visiting team bought it from Larry for a bit under his $7,000 asking price and trucked it home to Georgia, where it will be restored.

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Another Street Hemi body shell, this one’s a ’68 Coronet R/T with a console-shifted 727 TorqueFlite and a 3.23-geared 8-3/4 axle. It is one of 10,558 ’68 Coronet R/Ts made (9,989 hardtops and 569 convertibles), but one of only 229 with the Street Hemi option (220 hardtops, 9 convertibles). The original QQ1 Bright Blue Poly is visible in the engine bay. Again, the original Hemi was lost years ago.

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No collection of Mopars is complete without a wing car, and Larry has this original U-code 440-4/automatic Superbird in Alpine White. Though Plymouth barred availability of H51 air conditioning on Superbirds, somewhere along the line it has been added using all factory parts and looks like it has been there since day one. This rusty but savable example found a new home a week after our visit.